Mr. Runyan (for
himself and Mr. Walz of Minnesota)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans’
Affairs

A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain
employees of Members of Congress and certain employees of local governmental
agencies with access to case-tracking information of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Access to Veterans Benefits
Improvement Act.

2.

Provision of
access to case-tracking information

(a)

In
general

Chapter 59 of title
38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

5906.

Provision of
access to case-tracking information

(a)

In
general

(1)

The Secretary shall
provide a covered employee with access to the case-tracking system to provide a
veteran with information regarding the status of a claim submitted by such
veteran, regardless of whether such employee is acting under a power of
attorney executed by such veteran.

(2)

In providing a covered employee with
access to the case-tracking system under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
ensure that such access—

(A)

is provided in a manner that does not
allow such employee to modify the data contained in such system; and

(B)

does not include access to medical
records.

(b)

Treatment of
disclosure

The access to information by a covered employee
pursuant to subsection (a) shall be deemed to be—

(1)

a covered disclosure under section 552a(b)
of title 5; and

(2)

a permitted disclosure under regulations
promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note).

(c)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

The term
case-tracking system means the system of the Department of
Veterans Affairs that provides information regarding the status of a claim
submitted by a veteran.

(2)

The term covered employee
means an employee of a Member of Congress or an employee of a State or local
governmental agency (including a veterans service officer) who, in the course
of carrying out the responsibilities of such employment, assists veterans with
claims for any benefit under the laws administered by the
Secretary.

.

(b)

Clerical
amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

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